The Magnos

Mrs away from where Sola and Darwin fought, another battle ensued between Fólórunsó and Ikú. Arrows and knives flew freely around the northern wilderness as the two fought over the life of a certain red headed youth.

Jonathan could only stand there and watch as the person he had spited since their first encounter risk his life to save his own. For the first time, it seemed the young Immortalis was unable to do anything about the situation in front of him.

Fólórunsó gritted his teeth as he struggled to keep up with the assassin before him. Every now and then, anew laceration appeared on his body as the knives flew by. With the time it took to reload and draw his arrow, he could barely keep up. He had no other choice but to use alternative methods.

”Whats wrong kid? ” Ikú mocked. ”Aren you supposed to kill me or something? ”

His words were followed by several knives with black handles. The dark skinned boy replied with with two well aimed arrows. The arrows clashed with a pair of the assassins knives, putting the two sets of projectiles out of aim. The arrows twirled wildly in the air for a moment before stopping completely. They then resumed their objective and flew at the cloaked man.

Ikús eyes widened with surprise on seeing this. With a leap and a twist, he managed to avoid the arrows. The two projectiles got themselves imbedded in a tree behind the man and ceased to move.

”You didn tell me you were a Revel user. ” Ikú said.

Jonathan too was shocked. Though just barely, he was able to perceive an ethereal energy gather around the arrow tips before Fólórunsó shot. His informant did not mention the boy being able to do something like that. However, one look at the archers brow could tell one that he was not proficient.

Panting heavily, Fólórunsó began to draw another arrow and infuse Revel into it. Only other adepts like him could see the energy resembling the starlit sky swirling around the tip of the arrow in his hand. But he could only use the power so many times in a row. He had to make the few Revel powered shots he had count.

Ikú observed the situation carefully. These homing arrows were going to prove a challenge. Though it seemed like his opponent was already fatigued after just firing two, he was unaware whether that was a pretence in order to make him lower his guard. He knew it was something he would do. Even if he was able to avoid the Revel arrows, Fólórunsó would not just stand in one place and take a knives to the face. He had to make him take the hit.

The assassin leapt into the air as another arrow came flying at him. With his precise manoeuvres, he went from branch, etching closer to his target. The arrows he dodged redirected themselves to tail their mark. As Ikú moved, Fólórunsó and his arrows followed closely. His bow was aimed shakily at him as he struggled to steady his hands.

In a swift flip, Ikú dodged the arrows again. This time they were unable to continue their pursuit as they found themselves stuck in the bark of a tree. Before Fólórunsó could fire off another sent of arrows, the cloaked man and let loose a flurry of knives. To the boys surprise, none were targeted at him. His eyes widened on realising their actual target.

Jonathans eyes widened as well once he realised the knives were coming towards him. Fear filled his heart and his breathing became heavy. Any right placed hit and one of those knives could end his life healing factor regardless, and with the precision of assassin, it was almost guaranteed. He closed his eyes, expecting nothing else but death.

The sound of knives piercing flesh filled his ears. To his surprise, he felt no pain. His healing factor could do many miraculous things but pain relief was not amongst them. He opened his eyes and they widened at the sight before him. Fólórunsó stood in front of him, covered in blood and knives. His panting grew heavier as a pool of red gathered around his feet.

”W-w-why? ” Jonathan stammered. He had never expected this outcome.

”You hero types are too easy to read. ” Ikú smiled with cruelty. ”You
e always willing to put anothers life above your own. ”

Fólórunsó kept quiet. Revel gathered around an arrow in his quiver as he drew it and fired. With the damage his body had incurred, he could no longer fine tune his control over the mysterious energy. The most he could do now was make the arrow fly faster.

However that was not nearly enough to take on Ikú. By simply tilting his head, he avoided the shot. He let out a curved shot knife aimed at Jonathans head. Fólórunsó stuck his hand out in intercept it, resulting in him being stabbed by it. He did not let out a noise as he pulled out the knife and drew another arrow.

The two continued on like this for a certain duration. Ikú dodged arrow after arrow without getting so much as a scratch on himself. Fólórunsó on the other hand now resembled a porcupine with the amount of knives portuding from his body. His blood now soaked the ground he stood on. The boy could barely lift his arms due to the number of blades going through them.

”S-stop it! ” Jonathan yelled. ”Why are you protecting me?! I tried to destroy your partnership with Sola and humiliate you so why are you protecting me?! ”

”Just because you were a jackass to me doesn mean I have to return the favour. ” Fólórunsó replied.

”Youve got to be kidding me! ” Ikú laughed. ”You
e risking your life for this kid because of some dumb sense of chivalry you have?! You must be really stupid! ”

”That doesn matter to me. ” Fólórunsó said. ”It doesn matter if you
e the scum of the world or the greatest Saint, and I won stand by and watch someone take that life away. ”

Revel surged slightly around the the boys hand. The Revel on the arrows stuck all over the wilderness reacted to this appearance. Neither Ikú nor Jonathan were aware of this reaction.

The assassin leapt forward at the archer without two knives in his hand. It was time he ended the life of this nuisance and finish the job. As he drew closer, an explosion suddenly went of beside him. His body was sent crashing into another tree. A second explosion went off sending him into the ground.

Blood gushed out of Ikús mouth as he gasped for air. He was confused about what had just happened. None of the two before him did anything so what had caused the explosions. Was there a third party at play?

”Theres no one else here but us. ” Fólórunsó answered his unasked question. ”Just the arrows I fired previously. ”

Ikús eyes widened on the realisation of what had just happened. Fólórunsó had used his Revel to remotely detonate the arrows he shot with the same energy. He observed the surrounding trees and realised that all the arrows previously were all strategically placed in a way that would prevent his escape.

”I was never really aiming for you, just your escape plan. ” The archer said.

”You son of a bitch! ” Ikú cursed.

Fólórunsó took out the last arrow in his quiver and filled it with his remaining Revel and threw the arrow at the assassin. The Revel drew the other arrows to it, surrounding Ikú with a storm of arrows. The assassin screamed as he was covered with several blue explosions. Once the smoke cleared, he was battered and barely able to move.

”I value all life, even one like yours. ” Fólórunsó said. ”Thats why I won kill you. ”

Ikú glared daggers at him but was too drained to voice a response. The boy turned his attention to the red head behind him. Tears gleamed on the sides of his face as he sniffed. He immediately hugged the person who just risked their life for his.

”Thank you. ” He whispered.

Fólórunsós eyes widened as a heart wrenching pierce filled his ears as his ribs cracked. Blood oozed from the side of mouth. A hand covered in red pulled out of the newly formed hole in his chest, letting him fall to the ground. The tears on Jonathans face had gone as quickly as they came. Now, all that was on his face was a cruel, wide grin that spread from ear to ear. He looked from his blood stained hand to the body of Fólórunsó.

”Thank you for being so naive. ”